ft) / 

Thoughts by 
the Way. 



1904 



By the State 
Superintendent 
of Public Schools 
of Maine. 



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Copies of this pamphlet will be sent free on application to W. W. 
Stetson, State Superintendent of Public Schools. 
Augusta, Maine. 



SEP21, 1907 
D. ofD. 



THOUGHTS BY THE WAY. 



In the study of educational problems many thoughts come to one which 
he is unwilling to include in the formal discussion of a question. Such 
thoughts sometimes have the kind of suggestiveness which seems to 
render them worthy of expression. It is with the hope that the following 
paragraphs may be of service that they are given a place in this docu- 
ment. 

I. 

A CREED. 
The homes of Maine are domestic universities. 
The common school is to be the social, literary and art center of the 

community. 
The safety of the Nation is not in the hands of its rulers, but in the lives 

of its common people. 
The world's best servant knows the past, lives in the present, foresees the 

future and is ready for the next thing. 

II. 

LEAGUE MOTTOES. 
Better physical surroundings. 
Best books for all. 
Art in the schoolroom. 
The home and the school hold the hope of the future. 



III. 

EDUCATION 



Should develop : 
Love for labor, 
Skill in effort. 
Tenderness of sympathy, 
Joy of appreciation. 
Sensitiveness for the right, 
Alertness of intellect, 
Strength to hold on. 



It should give the student a mastery of the printed page and make 
known to him the message of star, rock, flower, bird, painting and sym- 
phony. 

It should also help him to find his work, render his meed of service and 
feel his personal responsibility. 

IV. 

LESSONS FROM LIFE. 
Opinions have a value; convictions mould the world. 
The graciousness of culture is humbling the arrogance of knowledge. 
The love that cleanses the lover will purify the world. 
A life is alive as long as it is used to give life. 
The motive gives the quality to the act. 
We keep the best things when we give them to others. 
Courage makes peace possible and fear a guardian angel. 
The blessing comes when we have forgotten the service rendered. 
Be sensitive for others and you will forget to be sensitive for yourself. 
Be alert to believe good of others and goodness will fill your life. 
Take the hard places and give others the easy seats and happiness will 

crown your toil. 
Teach and live the best things and righteousness will fill the earth. 
Forget yourself and you will be remembered ; remember others and your 

life will be filled with joy. 
Be more concerned about your own work than anxious about another's 

service. 
Want others to have the best and you will have the blessing. 
Be too busy to see or know evil in any one. 
To trust is to become pure; to love is to live abundantly. 
We shall find the Grail when we can use it. 
Do the best you can and the best you can use will be yours. 
The home of the soul is reached through paths that lead along God's 

Highway. 
Those who serve are saved. 

V. 

ESSENTIALS. 
SELF-CONTROL gives power to strength and adds grace to beauty. 
OBEDIENCE has found its only perfect illustration in the Son of God. 

Freedom cannot prevail until it is regnant in the lives of the sons of 

men. 
UNSELFISHNESS is the fundamental quality of every noble soul and 

of every hope of happiness. 
REVERENCE is the tribute the best within us pays to the Divine where- 

ever found. 
CONSCIENTIOUSNESS makes us alert for the welfare of others and 

sensitive for our own rightness. 



SYMPATHY sees more than is in sight and says more than it puts into 

words. 
LOYALTY defends without asking questions and devotes itself to 

crowning the contest with victory. 
IDEALS keep the heart pure, the thought clear and the act righteous. 
SELF-RESPECT dignifies the humblest life and, in the end, saves the 

sinner. 
SIMPLICITY glorifies the great man and renders attractive the average 

citizen. 
FAITH knows it is better to feel the truth than to know what is true. 
APPLICATION develops a genius for work: work is the world's saving 

blessing. 
APPRECIATION is the offspring of fine sentiment and an intuitive 

undexstandiug. 
COURTESY is genuine if it is gracious under provocation; it cushions 

the jolts of life. 
SERENITY makes the strenuous life safe and multiplies its sweetest 

joys. 
GRATITUDE is the whitest flower of the Christian civilization. 
OPTIMISM helps to make the worst better and the best a benediction. 
HONESTY urges us to give a fraction more than we receive and keeps 

us sane on the values of "thine" and "mine." 
SANITY sees the littleness of small things, the greatness of large things 

and the proportion and perspective of all things. 
CHARITY sees the best in word and deed and finds its joy in service 

instead of rewards. 
LOVE indicates our quality by revealing what is congenial to us. 
COMMON SENSE makes common people uncommonly useful. 

You can serve your pupils by developing in them the powers and quali- 
ties here enumerated as "Essentials." 

You will find stories, sketches, anecdotes, biographies, poems, music, 
pictures, incidents and every-day experiences helpful in elaborating, 
illuminating, enforcing and embodying your instruction. 



VI. 

POINTS FOR PUPILS. 

Stand and Sit Erect. 

Move Promptly and Quietly. 

Speak Distinctly and Gently. 

Study More than Text-Books. 

Master What You Study. 

Be Courteous and Thoughtful. 

Be Diligent and Trustworthy. 

Make the Most of the Best in You. 



Me., 190 

Will you read or repeat the sentences given above once each day? Will 
you make an earnest effort to do the things there mentioned better than 
you did them last term? We are certain you will remember with pleas- 
ure every effort you make to do your best. These requests and sugges- 
tions are made by your superintendent, 



And your teacher. 



VII. 
READING. 
Read but few books. 
Read the best books. 
Read the books that help you most. 
Read the same books many times. 
Read for ideas more than facts. 
Take notes while reading. 
Commit to memory striking passages. 
Make indexed scrap-books of gems read. 

One hour of thoughtful reading each day will furnish food for medita- 
tion for all your leisure hours. Persist in this practice until it becomes a 
controlling habit. Read and study the lives of noted men until you have 
discovered the secret of their goodness and greatness. Read and study 
the history of a nation until you appreciate the people, measure the lead- 
ers and are able to comprehend the reasons why it helped or hindered the 
world's progress. Read and study one of the classics until you make 
your own the ideas of the author, see the pictures he paints, understand 
the characters he portrays and think out to their legitimate conclu- 
sions the ideas expressed. Verify statements in science, by observation 
or experiment, if possible. Do not feel satisfied with understanding 
the words of the author. Master the thought, welcome the enthusiasm 
he inspires and follow out the ideas your reading suggests. Study and 
respect the opinions of others but in the end stand by your own conclu- 
sions. 
I. — Write in a blank-book the complete titles of the books you read this 

year. 
2. — Write a short sketch of the author of each book read. 
3. — Mark the books you like best with crosses. 
4. — Why do you prefer these books? 
5. — In what ways have they helped you? 
6. — What friends have you made in the books read? 
7. — Why did you select them for friends? 
8. — What is the best idea in your favorite book? 
9. — What is the most important fact? 
10. — What is the choicest sentence? 
II. — How many times have you read the books marked with crosses? 



12. — Have you taken notes while reading? 

13. — Have you committed to memory striking passages? 

14. — Do you make some record of all the books you read? 

15. — What newspapers and magazines do you read regularly? 

16. — Do you put in a scrap-book the gems you read ? 

17. — How much time do you spend each day in reading? 

18. — Do you consult reference books for information on matters you do 

not understand in your reading? 
19. In what ways has your reading benefitted you? 
20. — What books would you like to read next? 

Reserve the first and second pages of the book in which you write 
answers to the above questions for answers to numbers 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 
16, 17, 18, 19 and 20. 

vni. 

Teachers must learn that it is not what they say or do, but it is the 
size and quality of the person behind what is said or done that give it 
power. 

The teacher is to an extent responsible for the interest the best people 
in the community have in the work she is trying to do. The best people 
in the community are responsible for the interest the teacher manifests in 
the children under her instruction and the quality of the work she helps 
them to perform. 

One of the great thinkers read a great poem, listened to classical 
music and studied a great picture each day. Would not the teachers 
of Maine do better work if they learn a lesson from one of the masters? 

A teacher should know her pupils so well that she knows who sat in 
the rear right hand corner last term and also what he was interested in 
and what he is best fitted to do. 

The wise teacher studies books a part of the time and children all the 
time. 

When the teacher is what she should be in tone, carriage and conduct, 
then will the children go from our schools with the instincts and graces 
of gentlemen and gentlewomen. 

Any teacher who is observant of the children knows that their thirst 
for sympathy is so great that it is impossible for a child to do his best 
unless he feels that he has the kindly, individual interest of his instructor. 
This interest may be indicated by a word, a look, a tone, or a gentle hand 
upon the shoulder. A great man has said that even a dog goes down the 
street with a better heart if he has a pat on his head when he starts. 

It is as true in teaching as in any other work that things should not 
be done unless there is a sufficient reason for doing them. 

While we should use the utmost precaution to prevent children from 
using stimulants or narcotics, we should use no less effort to prevent 
them from indulging in mental and moral dissipations which will be 
equally fatal to their welfare. 

Instruction that does not influence pupils in their morals, manners and 
reading out of school is poor teaching. The teacher does a great service 



8 

for the children when she impresses them with the fact that cheap thought 
and cheap action result in cheap people. 

To develop the power to do the child must be thrown on his own 
resources for themes of thought and means of growth. He must be 
brought into closest contact with his tasks and nature and left to work 
out his problem and his mental salvation. His work must tend to con- 
centrate his thoughts and form the habit of digging out his results with- 
out the aid of others. He must develop the power to return and work 
upon his problem until the point of saturation is reached. 



IX. 

The best test of the value of one's scholarship is found in the quality 
of the company he is in when he is alone and the profit with which he 
entertains himself. 

Education should not be valued for the facts we learn but for the 
power it gives us to do better work. 

We are not educated until we can see, feel and appreciate instinctively 
and hence unconsciously. 

We never know facts as we should until we know them so well rhat 
we are unconscious of our knowledge and they cease to be a burden. 

The school which fails to develop right motives fails grievously. 

The school is responsible for such training as will make it easy for 
the children to observe conventional forms. 

A true education will enable us to see objects, appreciate thought and 
understand relations. It will enable us to combine facts, weigh argu- 
ments and draw conclusions. Our purest feeling will control our acts, 
mould our conduct, direct our thought and give tone to our life. 



X. 

Teachers and school officials would do well to keep silent under criti- 
cism unless they are sure that explanation or denial will serve some use- 
ful purpose. 

Communities will not maintain the best schools until the people realize 
the difference between furnishing employment for teachers and instruc- 
tion for children. 

If we put more intelligence into the administration of our schools we 
would need to put less money into jails and the administration of our 
criminal code. 

It is discouraging to realize that many people do not want to know 
how to do, but instead want things done for them. 

The school that does not make the indifferent in the community differ- 
ent, needs to be changed. 

Those who have our school interests in charge would do well to con- 
sider seriously the following question : Can we improve the schools if 
we continue to use the machinery now in existence, or must new methods 



be devised for their administration? Put in a more general form, is it 
possible for any age to use successfully the methods which were useful 
in a preceding time? 

Many of the children who attend rural schools will never attend any 
other school ; hence the importance of having those schools so adminis- 
tered as to enable the children to prepare for life. 



XL 

The power that makes the school go is the sentiment which exists in 
the community in favor of it. If it is hearty and intelligent the school 
will do much for the children. If this interest and sympathy are want- 
ing it will fall but little short of a failure. No school is doing the best 
work until it is recognized as the social, literary and art center of the 
community. No teacher can fill the position in which she is placed until 
she can make it such a center. 

It will be well for the schools when we realize that some of the old 
fashioned things were good things in their day and would be helpful in 
these days. If we had more mental arithmetic ; if the pupils did more 
of their own work; if they were able to analyze some of the English 
classics in such a way as to understand their thought and appreciate their 
beauties we should be doing some things much better than we are doing 
them at present. 

XII. 

Exhibitions of bad manners, manifestations of selfishness and an unwill- 
ingness to think seriously of serious things should make us apprehensive 
of what these same children will be when they become men and women. 

It is unfortunate for children to be old beyond their years, to know 
things which it is unwise for them to know and to be thinking of sex 
relations long before such thoughts should enter their minds. If they 
have lost their relish and interest in the duties which should make up 
a large part of their lives and are more anxious to fill an inferior place 
in some store or shop than they are to continue their studies and fit 
themselves for a useful place in society, then we must realize that some 
one has failed in what he has given these children at their birth or made 
them since they were born. 

It is natural for young people to be ambitious and when we find them 
limp, lifeless and frivolous we do not wonder that they dislike work and 
look with contempt upon labor and those who perform it. 

One's work is, or should be, his university. Boys tumble down, tumble 
over themselves, tumble against others, while learning how to use their 
powers. Mistakes may be stepping stones to success. 

Our civilization and prosperity cost too much if they deprive our young 
people of the sturdiness that characterized those who lived in a simpler 
way. We are furnishing so many amusements for the children that they 
have ceased to be amused. We are giving so much instruction that they 



10 



are incapable of learning. We do so much work for them that they are 
losing the desire and capacity to work. 

One can easily acquire what man has gathered into cities, because in 
this acquisition he has to take to himself what others have collected. 
One must be born in the country to acquire the strength which comes 
from living close to Nature, because it is only here that one comes in 
contact with causes and wisdom at first hands. 

The boy who is born in the country has the advantage of his disad- 
vantages ; he is forced into a place where he must struggle if he wins. 
The boy who is born in the city suffers from the disadvantages of his 
advantages ; he, in many cases, has simply to push a button to have his 
wants supplied. 

One of the greatest misfortunes that can come to a child is to feel that 
he does not need to fit himself for work and, therefore, does not need 
to work, because his parents have the money which will save him from 
the necessity of working. To feel that one does not need to engage in 
any occupation because there is no pressing, immediate need, or to have 
the ease which money can give without performing the labor necessary 
to earn it, is to degenerate into a condition that leaves but little hope for 
the victim. 

Poverty and lack of social success save many boys from temptation, 
drive them in on themselves and urge them to do something worthy. 
The consciousness that we are failing in certain minor ways often stim- 
ulates us to vindicate our ability to win success in larger fields. 

It is peculiarly unfortunate for our rural communities that so few of 
the young men and women who are pursuing courses in our colleges teach 
during so few of their college days in our common schools. This 
misfortune affects three interests ; the college, the student and the local 
community. The college is dropping out of touch with the smaller towns 
and to an extent is losing that interest which came into being through 
the contact of the students with the people in the relation of teacher and 
taught. It is an injury to the students because they lose the training 
which comes from being responsible for devising ways and means of 
administering the school and the stimulus which comes from being con- 
sidered of a superior order of beings. The college student who takes 
charge of a country school is placed in a position where he is held 
responsible for dignity of conduct, quality of judgment, extent of reading 
and capacity for management. All these things go to develop breadth, 
strength and grasp and hence are peculiarly useful to him in his work 
in college and his struggles in life. The community, and particularly the 
children, have lost the inspiration which came from contact with some 
one who was fresh from college halls and who was eager to impart to 
others of his knowledge. The older people lived over again their younger 
days and the young people were stimulated to better conduct, greater 
effort and a desire to walk the paths which this comely collegian was 
traveling. 

Vile physical surroundings, vicious literature and cigarette smoking 
are among the great evils from which our school children are suffering. 



II 



If we get the physical and intellectual eyes and ears of the children 
open and can breed in ihem the desire to know, we have made it possible 
for them to be educated. 

It IS noticeable that the teacher tends to become absorbed in his text- 
book ; the preacher in his sermon; the lawyer in his briefs; the business 
man in his merchandise, and the farmer in his crops. The tendency of 
the age seems to be in the direction of intense occupation with the special 
interests which have come to be our life work. All this is well enough 
in its way, but it is working great evil, both to the people who follow 
such practices and to general interests which must depend upon the gen- 
eral public. If each knew more about the other and the work of others, 
each would be better prepared for his own work. It is only by contact, 
conference and concert of action that the best work can be done by the 
individual and the best things can be done for all. A man who is not 
larger that his profession is too small to be large in his work, or helpful 
to others. 

XIII. 

The best teachers are trained in the kindergarten of observation, the 
high school of study, the college of investigation and the university of 
experience. 

Some teachers iiie visionary: not a few have visions and an increasing 
number are coming into the list of those who have vision. 

We read of an age when it was the work of the scholar to study books. 
We are enduring the horrors incident to a furor about the study of things. 
A few have faith to believe that we are approaching the era when we shall 
exalt the study of life to its deserved commanding place. 

Experience and a larger wisdom have reversed ninety-five per cent, of 
the decisions rendered by reason and confirmed an equal proportion of the 
prophecies of the poets. Pope, Emerson, Balfour and Kidd unite in 
exposing the comparative valuelessncss of reason as a guide in certain 
vital relations and demonstrate the superiority of intuition in discovering 
ourselves, revealing others and making the most of the best in both. 

It is profoundly to be regretted that most of the effort in the school of 
to-day is wasted in appealing to the senses, or the training of this quin- 
tette of modern deities. How to develop and utilize these local reporters 
is the burning question with most teachers. The invisible is not seen 
and its existence is often denied. 

Any one familiar with the typical school of to-day realizes in how few 
instances the fact is recognized that the subtile life that quivers on the 
canvas, breathes from the printed page and pulsates in bird and flower 
and gem, is worth more than the beautiful colors, the glowing words and 
the gracious comliness that embody it. 

Let us forever abandon the idea that analyses, dissections, classifica- 
tions and memorizing of facts will reveal to the children the story, the 
lesson, or the life of Nature. They must be helped to feel its pulse, hear 
its music, come in totich with its forms, be warmed by its breath and 
respond to its call. 



12 



These are the things which kindle the fire that warms the heart and 
brain. To see a thing in its expression, relation, harmony and propor- 
tion is to see it to some purpose. That high priest of the sanctuary of 
beauty has well warned us "not to lose an opportunity to see anything 
beautiful, for beauty is God's handwriting, — a wayside sacrament. There- 
fore welcome it in every fair face, every blue sky, every tinted flower and 
thank Him for it v^ho is the fountain of loveliness and drink it in simply 
and earnestly. It is a charmed draught, a cup of blessing." 

Facts we shall always have with us. It is a part of our duty to know 
and master them. But facts are means, not ends. One should know them 
so well that he is unconscious of his knowledge and their existence. It 
is what they suggest, make possible, inspire, that have value. We should 
not be beasts of burden, seeking to accumulate and willing to bear the 
weight of infinite details that can be better housed in books than in heads. 

If we can grow to feel that it is the spirit with which we work, the pur- 
pose that inspires us and the motive that holds us to our task we have 
made possible a great blessing to ourselves and others. Then we feel a 
just sympathy with all worthy effort, a true harmony with all life, a full 
recognition of all beauty and a prompt hospitality for all revelation. 

Observation makes it clear that we often hold things so close to our 
noses that we cannot see them. It is also true that sometimes we try to 
see so much that we fail to see anything. 

The entomologist can narrow his soul by a too close study of a single 
bug and so can the linguist by too long a search for a Greek root. One 
can live, and live worthily, without knowing much about the structure, 
characteristics, or habitat of a bird. If he can see its grace, hear its mel- 
ody, feel its charm and appreciate its abandon he has gained more than 
facts contain. 

A fine perception of the fragrance, color, delicacy and unwritten wis- 
dom of the flower is worth more than a scientific knowledge of the seed 
from which it grew and the minutest information of the stalk, branch and 
leaf which hold its life. 

We must know the alphabets and formulae of science. We must be 
able to make tabular statements, classify and analyze ; but we may know 
and do all these things and still be deaf and blind to the great lessons that 
life and Nature teach. 

It should give us pause when we remember that the school and the 
pupil take their color, tone and atmosphere from the teacher. Hence he 
must be clean, kind, responsive, hospitable, broad-visioned, receptive and 
large enough to be willing for others to be larger than he, strong enough 
to be gentle and wise enough to be simple. 

Teachers should not indicate by their systems of instruction that they 
feel that the results of thinking are of greater value than the power that 
has been gained in reaching conclusions. The cultivalion of self con- 
trol, concentration, endurance, application, appreciation, insight, recep- 
tiveness, responsiveness, should be recognized as being on a higher edu- 
cational plane than a knowledge of insignificant towns, unimportant dates 
and meaningless definitions. 



13- 

The teacher must be a scholar in the sense that history will tell him the 
path his children have come and why the ages have made .them what they 
are; his knowledge of science must be so familiar that he can count the 
pulse of Nature ; his companions in art and literature must be those who 
have written the record of the world before it was lived and have made 
their prophecies and longings a part of the progress of the race. 

The teacher should not aspire to furnish brains for his pupils ; he 
should not be willing or presume to do their thinking. Such things are 
an injury to both without being of service to either. 

Children, like other human beings, do the best work when they have 
some scope and choice. If their personality is respected, their judgment 
recognized and their aptitudes considered they are stimulated to do their 
best. If they know the principles which underlie the facts studied and 
are left to work out the details under one who is quick to see, prompt to 
command, suggestive in suggestions and can win more by request than 
he can compel by command, he will help the children to become increas- 
ingly skillful and render their labors correspondingly helpful. But to 
accomplish all this he must be more interested in growth than concerned 
about having his little conceits reduplicated. 

One cannot retain his courage to work unless he see more years into 
the future than the records tell him have passed. He must possess his 
soul, see whence life has come, whither it is going and be content to add 
his contribution to aid in giving it breadth, depth and richness. He must 
see and help others to discern the music that has no vocal expression, the 
grace that finds no outward form and the thought that seeks no words to 
give it utterance. 

We stand in the rotunda of a golden age of great achievements. We 
owe it to the future, as well as to ourselves, to appreciate our inheritance 
and use the capacities the travail of the world has given us. 

The sun is shining upon a better day than any upon which it has set. 
It is to dawn upon better days than the one upon which it is shining. 



XIV. 

The highest function of the school is character building. That 
teacher fails grievously who does not help her pupils to see that hateful 
words, unkind acts and untruthful statements injure, to an alarming 
extent, those who indulge in these vices. It should be made clear to 
children that the most of their unhappiness will be caused by the injust- 
ice and suffering they inflict upon others. 

It is important that they learn, while young, that he who is generous in 
thought and deed and ready to add to the joys and the prosperity of oth- 
ers will receive greater blessings than he bestows. 

The teacher will do a great service for the children if she leads them to 
see that altruism brings happiness and that selfishness ends in misery. 
She should aid them in reaching the decision that no one can afford to 
spend in unworthy rivalries the strength which ought to be given to win- 



14 

ning honest success. The true teacher will use every influence she com- 
mands to bring home to the hearts of her pupils these truths. 

More study and effort should be given to developing the conscientious- 
ness of the children. The controlling sentiment of the school should con- 
demn the act of the wrong doer. The children must have that moral 
quality which will warrant us in believing what they say, trusting them 
when alone and developing in them the feeling that they are less than 
honest if their tasks are done for them. There is great danger of pei-ma- 
nently injuring children by being consciences for them. They must not 
think we will direct them to the extent of always pointing out the right 
and that by positive restraint we will prevent them from going far wrong. 
They must not feel they are safe as long as they do not run against 
barriers we have erected. To prevent these calamities we must cultivate 
in them the desire to decide questions on their merits and to carry these 
decisions into effect. 

When the lives of great men are used to interest the children in what 
has been done and to nurture in them worthy ideals, but little need be said 
about their having been presidents, or the battles they have fought, or the 
money they have accumulated, or the public honors they have received. 
With these things they will become familiar without special effort on the 
part of the teacher. She should, however, make impressive the struggles, 
the triumphs over obstacles, the honesty, gentleness, purity, manliness, 
generosity, dignity and largeness of soul of the men studied. The deeds 
which these qualities make possible and that truly glorify history and the 
thoughts which mirror the genius that gave them expression are most 
fascinating and helpful to children when properly presented. If the 
child's interest in these things can be enlisted, his respect, admiration and 
love for the pure is assured. If the teacher can make real to him the 
patience and faith of Columbus, the serenity and fortitude of Washington 
and the honesty and simplicity of Lincoln, she has accomplished a great 
work. 

Teachers do not appreciate the good they can do by carefully preparing 
themselves to talk to their pupils on the topics on which they need 
instruction. Everyone is aware that there is too much talking, but most 
people are also conscious there is but little effective talking. Ability to 
do a thing well comes to the average person because of practice and a 
sincere desire to excel. It is the duty of the teacher to select some sub- 
ject that needs attention and so to prepare herself that she can present to 
her pupils new ideas or old ideas in a new form. Striking forms of 
expression, apt illustrations and fresh facts contribute largely to one's 
success. These talks must not be too frequent, or at .tated times, or in 
any sense perfunctory. Do not fail, as you value your influence, to stop 
when you get through. Remember that brevity is not only the soul of 
wit but it is a most effective form of emphasis. For a teacher to be able 
to say in well selected words and well turned sentences and with a grace 
and force peculiarly her own. something worth saying, is to possess a 
wonderful power for good over children. 



15 

The value of what a teacher does depends on what she is ; her per- 
sonality teaches more than her words. Unless she helps to develop in the 
children worthy motives and ennobling ideals, she is a failure — absolute, 
ghastly. The desire to be useful is worth more than glib recitations ; the 
thirst for knowledge is more to be coveted than high ranks; a love for 
the best in literature and art is more fruitful than class honors and the 
wish to do the right because it is right is more blessed than fantastic 
diplomas. The work of the school is to give such instruction, furnish 
such stimulus and form such habits as will help the child to be prompt 
to do justice and alert in responding to the best within him. The motives 
that move and the principles which govern him must come spontaneously 
from an honest heart. 

Every lover of children must regret that there are so few teachers who 
realize that the great writers use language as a mirror in which to reveal 
the life of the past, the life of the present and the life that is to be; that 
the great painter uses color and form to place before the vision the same 
revelations. One who has any interest in knowing life must learn to 
interpret, to appreciate what the seers have said to us. 

The historian writes the record of the past. The annalist and journal- 
ist write the record of the present. The poet writes a forecast of the 
future. We must study, ponder, estimate the work of the historian. We 
must read and sift the record of the journalist and the annalist. We 
must take in, as we take in the breath of life, the prophecies of the poet. 
It is life's greatest task to appreciate life. V/hat the masters have given 
us furnishes food for the soul. Using this, life will be enlarged, made 
abundant. Without it, we are dwarfed, crippled, starved. 

There is a larger number of people, than ever before, who have an 
honest concern for the betterment of the untrained classes of society. 
They desire to improve their condition socially ; they seek to assist them 
to help themselves financially : they strive to train them intellectually. 
Their efforts are sometimes futile because of their hot haste to complete 
the reformation of the world during this year of grace. It has taken the 
race many centuries to reach its present vantage ground. The best thing 
it has won during the journey is the strength which has come from the 
struggle. If we were made perfect in a minute we would not have stiff- 
ening enough to hold us straight for an hour. 

There are certain changes which must be made in the scope and char- 
acter of the work done by the public schools if they are to receive the 
sympathetic and unstinted support of the public. These reforms are of 
such a nature that they can be most successfully wrought into the sys- 
tem by personal and local influences. 

It ought to satisfy the ambition of any one to be able to foster such a 
public sentiment in any community as will make it impossible for school 
officials to refuse to furnish the children with such English classics as 
will give them an opportunity to read and study and know something of 
the masters of English undefiled. 



i6 



If inexpensive reproductions of a lew pictures of real merit could be 
placed on the walls of our schoolrooms, and if the teachers could be so 
educated in these matters that they would come to appreciate these things 
themselves, and if through this appreciation the children could be led to 
enjoy and appropriate them, a greater work would be done for the 
children than can be rendered by any school which pursues the narrow 
policy of limiting the work of the children to text-books. 

May the time be near at hand when some of the good people of the 
State who believe that visions of life and beauty are means of grace will 
take these matters in hand, will give them the study their merits demand 
and will see that such steps are taken as will result in beautiful school 
grounds, properly built, suitably ventilated and attractively furnished 
school-houses, and will cause to be placed in the school-rooms such 
material as will enable the children to have intimate and intelligent 
acquaintance with some of the best things the masters have given us in 
literature and art. 



XV. 

To the Superintendent: 

To use these questions* to the best advantage you will need to make a 
careful study of the teacher, the pupils, the work and the questions. This 
done, you can, in a few minutes, make a record of your decisions and 
leave them in a form for the teacher to study at her leisure. 

It is embarrassing to a teacher to have comments made on the discipline 
or work of the school in the presence of her pupils, although they may 
not hear what is said. She is frequently so much excited that she does 
not distinctly hear, or fully understand the suggestions made by the super- 
intendent. 

This is sufficient explanation of the fact that teachers frequently do 
not act on these hints. They do not hear all that is said, they do not 
understand what it means and they soon forget what they were urged 
to do. 

I would suggest that you do not attempt to mark more than nine or 
ten questions during any one visit. If possible, mark some that indicate 
your approval of the work or efforts of the teacher. It is not difficult to 
find some points in which you think the work needs more attention. If 
necessary, do not hesitate to make clear the particulars in which you 
think the teacher is failing. 
School Teacher. 



*For sheets containing these questions apply to the State Superintend- 
ent. 



^7 

Observations made by the Superintendent Jgo 

Answers. 

1. Has she the instincts and tact of a teacher? 

2. Did she seem to be famihar with the work required of 

her classes? 

3. Did she seem to have prepared herself for the recita- 

tion? 

4. Had she some definite plan of work? 

5. Did she secure the undivided attention of her pupils? 

6. Did she teach more than is in the text-book? 

7. Did she use the facts and objects with which the chil- 

dren are familiar to emphasize the essential points of 
the lesson and to illustrate principles studied? 

8. Were her statements clear and accurate? 

9. Was her manner decided? . . . inspiring? . . . control- 

ling? . . . forceful? 

10. Did her questions follow each other in logical order? 

11. Was her method of questioning effective? 

12. Did she lead the children to discover their errors? 

13. Did the work done seem to promise the best results? 

14. Were her explanations suited to the abilities and 

advancement of her pupils? 

15. Were the important points of the lesson fully developed 

and carefully summarized at the close of the recita- 
tion? 

16. Did her teaching tend to make thinkers or machines? 

17. Were the pupils taught how to draw conclusions from 

the facts learned? 

18. Did her questions include the answers desired? 

19. Did she suggest by words or tones the answers 

required? 

20. Did she assist her pupils to such an extent as to make 

them dependent upon her? 

21. Did they answer questions with the rising inflection? .. 

22. Were they allowed to guess at answers? 

23. Did their answers take the form of questions ? 

24. Did the teacher seem to be governed by the idea that it 

is her principal business to hear recitations. 

25. Did she stimulate her pupils to think by asking sugges- 

tive questions? 

26. Did she encourage healthful discussions? 

27. Did she thoroughly verify and test the pupils' idea of 

the statements made and the definitions given? 

28. Did her questions show an intelligent and ample grasp 

of the topic? 

29. Did the pupils thoroughly prepare their lessons before 

coming to the recitation? 



i8 



30. Did she have suitable work prepared and assigned to 

those who were not reciting? 

31. Were those who were not reciting studying? 

32. Were all the members of the class giving attention to 

the work of the recitation? 

33. Was her instruction interesting enough to deserve atten- 

tion ? 

34. Did she "clinch" some point during the recitation? 

35. Did she make the recitation accomplish all it was capa- 

ble of doing for her pupils? 

36. Did she use effectively the facts that are naturally tribu- 

tary to the lesson? 

37. Did she, to a reasonable extent, go back to the first 

principles of the work being done? 

38. Were oral reviews a part of the regular exercises of the 

school ? 

39. Did they include only the essential facts and principles 

studied? 

40. Did she use anniversaries, facts, incidents and current 

events to illustrate and simplify the work of the text- 
books ? 

41. Can her pupils apply, in a practical way, what they learn 

from books? 

42. Does she devise and adapt her methods, select the facts 

she teaches, and arrange the materials she uses? 

43. Is her work in these particulars characterized by good 

taste and sound judgment? 

44. Did her pupils know how and are they eager to think? 

45. Did she have drill exercises in the pronunciation of 

words ? 

46. Did her pupils use good English? . . . Are they skillful 

talkers ? 

47. Do they know what they should about the soil of this 

section? . . . plants? . . . rocks? . . . animals? 
. . . city? . . . county? . . . state? . . . famous 
men ? . . . great and current events ? 

48. Were inaccuracies in oral and written language cor- 

rected ? 

49. Were important points frequently reviewed? 

50. In reviews, were the questions so worded as to require 

the pupils to think if they answer them and to use 
their own words in their answers? 

51. Were her questions brief and searching? 

52. Were her recitations so conducted as to develop 

thought ? 

53. Did she dispatch the details of her work expeditiously 

and quietly? 



19 



54- Did she secure promptness, accuracy and brevity in her 
recitations? 

55. Were the tones of the teacher and pupils natural and 

pleasant? 

56. Were her pupils respectful and courteous? 

57. Did they seem to make progress in their studies? 

58. Was the teacher too talkative? 

59. Did it seem as if the teacher questioned the brighter 

pupils only? 

60. Did the teacher address her questions to the whole 

class? 

61. Did she indulge in repeating the pupil's answer? 

62. Did she say or do anything which the pupils might have 

said or done themselves? 

63. Were they urged to prepare simple apparatus to illus- 

trate principles studied? 

64. Were they energetic, self-reliant and progressive ? 

65. Did they stand, sit and walk properly? 

66. Was she careful in her manner, tone and words, in her 

intercourse with her pupils? 
O7. In arithmetic did her pupils give parrot-like or intel- 
ligent analyses? 

68. Did they analyze the problems or state the processes 

used in the work? 

69. Were fractions so taught that they were readily used in 

interest and percentage? 

70. Were the pupils rapid and accurate in mental work in 

arithmetic ? 

71. Did she try to teach the cause and relation of facts 

studied ? 

72. Did she possess the power that comes from serenity ? 
TZ- Did she ignore faults and irregularities? 

74. Was the class quiet? . . . diligent? 

75. Was the order in passing to recitations and in the line 

and in handling books and apparatus, satisfactory? 

76. Was the teacher just in praising? . . . reprimanding? 
TJ. Did she have control of herself? 

78. Was order maintained by harsh measures? 

79. Was she kind and firm in her treatment of her pupils? 

80. Did she rule by muscle? ... by will power? . . . by 

inspiring self-control? 

81. Did the discipline of the school influence the pupils help- 

fully outside of the schoolroom? 

82. Was the moral atmosphere of the school wholesome? 

. . . mental ? 

83. Were the relations existing between the teacher and 

pupils kindly and intimate? 



20 



84. Did the pupils obey promptly? . . . cheerfully? 

85. What was the temperature? . . . atmosphere? 

86. Was the schoolroom tidy and attractive? 

87. Was the work on the board and slates neatly done and 

arranged ? 

88. Were the pupils allowed to injure the text-books or 

other school property? 

89. Were they alert and interested? 

90. Did she infuse life and energy into the pupils and the 

work of the school? 

91. Did she seem to be buried in her text-book? 

92. Did she bring some new idea into each recitation? 

93. Did she encourage her pupils to read the books, papers 

and magazines found at home and in the school? 

94. Did she test their knowledge of what they had read? 

95. Did the pupils read with good expression? 

96. Did they speak in clear, distinct tones and in a prompt 

and decided manner? 

97. Were they allowed to read without comment or sugges- 

tion? 

98. Was the amount of text read too much? 

99. Was there enough time spent in studying the thought of 

the selection read? 
100. Were the pupils required to reread a paragraph until 

they read it acceptably? 
loi. Were mistakes in pronunciation and emphasis left 

uncorrected ? 

102. Were mumbling, drawling, slurring tones permitted? 

103. Did the pupils recite words or ideas? 

104. Did the teaching tend to develop the power of concen- 

tration? . . . memory? . . . attention? . . . appli- 
cation ? 

105. Did it tend to develop the power to see things in all 

their parts and relations? ... to grasp and analyze 
ideas? 

106. Did the younger pupils recite frequently enough? 

107. Did she have some definite object to accomplish by each 

lesson? 

108. Did she have some definite way of accomplishing it? 

109. Did her pupils master the work attempted, and state 

clearly their ideas? 
no. Were their answers indefinite or incomplete? 

111. Did they use the words and sentences that expressed in 

the briefest and clearest manner the answers desired? 

112. Did they understand the words used? 

113. Were they required to work? 



21 



114. Were the pupils told to do or taught hoiv to do the work 

required of them? 

115. Are the pupils' vocabularies large and well selected? 

116. In the assignment of lessons did the teacher indicate 

that she had made a study of the abilities and needs 
of her pupils and of the text assigned? 

117. Has she a special line of study or investigation not 

directly connected with her school work? 

118. Has she read some of the standard works on education? 

... in general literature? 

119. Is she a regular reader of an educational magazine? 

120. Is she instinctively a student? 

121. Is her knowledge of the "common English branches" 

broad and accurate? 

122. Is she energetic? . . . enthusiastic? . . . progressive? 

123. Can she devise? . . . execute? 

124. Is she up with the times in thought? . . . reading? 

125. Is she interested in her work? ... in her pupils as 

individuals? 

126. Does she inspire her pupils and exert an influence for 

good over them because of the quality of her per- 
sonality? 

127. Is she interested in the best interests of the community? 

128. Did she spend much time on non-essentials? 

129. Did she economize the time and energy of her pupils, by 

properly grouping the facts that should be considered 
together? 

130. Did she put her best effort into teaching the important 

topics ? 

131. Was the work on the chart satisfactory? ... in oral 

combinations in number? . . . general exercises? 
. . . reviews? . . . synonyms? . . . phonics? . . . 
analysis of words? 

132. Could the pupils give the reason why the statements 

they made are true? 

133. Was the recitation a means of making their information 

more definite and extensive? 

134. Did they study about things, or study the things them- 

selves? 

135. Was each lesson so taught as to justify the teacher in 

feeling that something had been accomplished, some- 
thing done? 

136. Did she use her own and her pupils' time and energies 

to the best advantage? 

137. Did her influence and teaching tend to make pupils 

thoughtful? . . . considerate? . . . gentle? . . . gen- 
erous? . . . erect and graceful in carriage? . . . 



22 



courteous in manner? . . . unselfish? . . . trust- 
worthy ? 

138. Did she appeal to the best motives in her efforts to con- 

trol or influence her pupils? 

139. Did she have the power of holding them to their work 

and good behavior without a visible effort? 

140. Did her teaching tend to develop the best qualities and 

abilities of her pupils? 

141. Are they doing more and better work than they did last 

term? 

142. Did she have the faculty of inducing them to voluntarily 

put forth their best efforts? 

143. Does she familiarize herself with what her pupils have 

been doing in preceding classes? 

144. Does she know and properly appreciate what they are 

to do in the higher classes? 

145. Is her work a continuation of what precedes, and does 

it best prepare the pupils for what follows? 

146. Did she use good English? 

147. Did her sentences convey to her pupils the ideas she 

desired? 

148. Were they impressed and influenced by what she said? 

149. Do they dawdle? 

150. Does her teaching tend to help them use their faculties 

naturally, and at the time of their greatest natural 
activity? 

151. Could they see things with their intellectual eyes? 

152. Could they use books and facts, or Avere they burdened 

by them? 

153. Did they do enough in a given time? 

154. Did she have the faculty of inducing her pupils to work 

out the solutions of questions for themselves? 
155- Was enough time spent on drill exercises? 

156. Did she "pump" the lesson out of her pupils by lead- 

ing questions? 

157. Did they understand the connection and relation of facts 

recited? 

158. Does her teaching tend to encourage pupils to accumu- 

late facts or to develop strength? 

159. Have her pupils read some of the English classics? 

160. Have they memorized some standard selections? . . . 

short quotations? 

161. Did her teaching develop love of country, and a just 

regard for our best men and women? 

162. In what did she excel as a teacher? 

163. In what was she weak? 

164. In what were pupils specially proficient? 



23 

165. In what were they particularly deficient? 

166. Does she study the methods of other teachers? 

167. Is she persistent in her efforts to learn the best meth- 

ods? 

168. Is she fertile in giving variety to her work? 

169. Does she act on suggestions made to her? 

170. Is she a better teacher than she was last term? 

A 'J means that the work covered by the question, 

after which it is placed, is satisfactory. 
A + means that the work needs more attention. 
A — means that the work is unsatisfactory. 

Remarks : 



A LIST OF PAMPHLETS ISSUED BY THE EDUCATIONAL 
DEPARTMENT. 

I. Improvement of school buildings and grounds. Pp. 52. 
II. Manual for the use of officers and members of county teachers' 
institutes. Pp. 45. 

III. A course of study for the elementary schools of Maine. Pp. 86. 

Illustrated. 

IV. Sketches, designs and plans for school buildings, school yards and 

outhouses, prepared under the direction of the State Superin- 
tendent of public schools. Pp. 56. Illustrated. 
V. Words, reading and literature and the school as it was, is and 
should be. Pp. 27. 
i VI. A plan for the study of local history and kindred subjects in the 
public schools. Pp. 15. 
*' VII. An experiment in child study. Pp. 19. 
■ VIII. Examination for State certificates. Pp. 22. 
f^ IX. "For the better education of youth." Pp. 14. 
y'^ X. A study of things the school should do for the child, suggestions 
on study of U. S. history and arithmetic and some gains. 
Pp. 24. 
XL A study of some of our school problems and state of local interest 
in the local school. Pp. 20. 
XII. Simple science lessons : Teacher's syllabus and note book. 
Arranged for summer schools by Daniel E. Owen. Pp. 43. 

XIII. School improvement league of Maine. Library and art exchange. 

Pp. 36. 

XIV. The school improvement league of Maine. A Manual. Pp.32. 
XV. A study of waste and kindred evils existing in the administration 

of our public schools. Pp. 32. 

XVI. Union of towns for the purpose of employing superintendent of 

schools. Pp. 8 

XVII. A studv of the schools of northeastern Maine. Pp. 38. 



24 

XVIII. A. study of the history of education in Maine and the evolution 

of our present school system. Pp. 104. 

XIX. A study of our public school system with regard to purposes, 

scope of instruction, organization, present condition and needs. 
Pp. 16. 
XX. Thoughts by the way. Pp. 24. 
XXI. Leaflets and Cards. 



Copies of the above documents will be sent free on application to 
W. W. Stetson, Augusta, Maine. 



iiiaii^ 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



019 741 090 5 



